New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing is thrilled to announce the launch of Season Two of ‘The Grand Tour Racing Festival’, providing the racing industry with an innovative national marketing campaign for the second consecutive year.

The campaign was initially developed ahead of the 2022-23 racing season, designed to shed light on key events in New Zealand’s racing calendar and attract a younger, more mainstream, audience to participate in the Thoroughbred sports and entertainment market.

Season Two of The Grand Tour will once again leverage off New Zealand’s Top 20 premier racing events to generate an exceptional raceday experience with the support of their major Clubs. The campaign will continue to target Premier racedays around the country, situated across Hawke’s Bay, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Waikato regions.

Raceday hospitality and entertainment will be at the forefront of Season Two, with NZTR’s Head of Marketing, Communications and Wagering Partnerships Dan Smith commenting on the Festival’s planned promotional activities.

“Off the back of an inaugural launch of The Grand Tour, we saw the campaign drive ticket sales for Clubs and increase baseline raceday attendance for a younger demographic,” Smith said.

“With the support of the NZTR Board and management, we have been able to plan for innovation and growth towards year two, with a significant enhancement to the racegoers experience.

“We are looking to maximise opportunities this season in relation to headline artists, ambassadors and on-course activations to promote broader mainstream interest in our raceday events.

“Included in the outstanding line up of entertainment is legendary Australian dance duo Peking Duk, who headlined the 2022 Everest at Royal Randwick. We are thrilled to have a world-class act join us on Kiwi soil.

“We are also fortunate enough to have booked Sir Dave Dobbyn for two racedays. We view Sir Dave as a Kiwi icon and we are delighted that he will feature in The Grand Tour Racing Festival this season.

“Each of the top 20 events is renowned for delivering first-class racing at the best venues, which we intend to capitalise on to deliver outstanding hospitality and drive participation in both wagering and attendance.

“We are also thrilled to announce that TAB will be our partner for The Grand Tour Season Two, bringing a number of exciting initiatives to the table as we look to encourage young Kiwis outside our racing community to experience the thrill of a raceday,” Smith said.

Season Two of The Grand Tour Racing Festival launches Monday, 7 August, with the first event being Hawke’s Bay Racing’s Tarzino Trophy Daffodil Raceday on Saturday 9 September and runs right through until early April 2024.

Eat, drink and get racy at thegrandtour.nz.